Why I like wild places…

Calgary Bay, Scotland

I like wild places because they remind me of the immensity of the world. When you look out into the unbroken line of the horizon it’s a paraphrase of infinity. Your thoughts are drawn outwards and onwards endlessly. You realise that the world exceeds us – that it’s greater than our capacity for knowledge. The wilderness has prefaced us and will outlive us.

Camping out in wild places - or sailing out of sight of landfall - gives me a complete sense of calm and contentedness, particularly at dusk. 

The sun hangs on the horizon and all of a sudden drops out of sight, spreading its glow along the horizon in its wake. The sky deepens from blue to black and the starry night emerges above.

Kapiti Island, New Zealand

The landscape and the wildlife it contains change at different times of the day. Our senses become more attuned to the scents that spring out of the darkness and the sound of the lapping of every wave against the bows of the boat.

Humanity has always directed dreams of reverence up to the sky at night. It's nice to just sit there in awe of it all.

  

Top ten:

- Calgary Bay headland, Mull, Scotland

- Carsaig Arches, Mull, Scotland

- Lunga, Scotland

- Kapiti island, New Zealand

- Milford Sound, New Zealand

- Constantine Bay, Cornwall, England

Tiger Leaping Gorge

- The walk from Durdle Door to Lyme Regis, England

- Isle of Wight, rounding the needles, England

- Ras Mohammed National Park, Sharm el-Sheihk, Egypt

- Tiger Leaping Gorge and the First Bend of the Yangtze River, Yunnan province, China